Taiwan spots first China militia boat in east

MORE PRESSURE: The purpose of the boat, which was in an area not commonly used by Chinese vessels, was to conduct substantive harassment, an official said

• By Yimou Lee / Reuters, TAIPEI

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A Chinese militia boat was spotted along with two other vessels off Taiwan’s east coast in August, a surveillance report showed, the first known sighting of such a craft in the area.

The Apex Aviation report identified the Minfudingyu 07902 (閩福鼎漁07902) as a fishing boat that doubles as a Chinese militia vessel, which was seen operating with a Chinese coast guard cutter and a research vessel in mid-August.

China has stepped up activity off the nation’s east coast since June with regular coast guard patrols.

A vessel, which Apex Aviation said is Chinese fishing boat Minfudingyu 07902 sails off Taiwan’s east coast in mid-August.

Photo: Apex Aviation via Reuters

Officials in Taiwan said they believe China is practicing for a potential maritime blockade using overlapping military, paramilitary and civilian assets.

China was “using law enforcement and scientific research as cover for harassment, seeking to expand their scope of operations during a non-conflict scenario to create an illusion of de facto jurisdiction,” the Ministry of National Defense said.

Such actions undermine international order and challenge Taiwan’s maritime rights, the ministry said, adding that the military was using reconnaissance tools to track Chinese activity in coordination with other agencies, including the Coast Guard Administration.

In a practice dating to the 1950s, China’s maritime militia, more commonly observed around South China Sea flashpoints, consists of fishing vessels whose crews receive training and support to operate in disputed waters, often alongside China Coast Guard ships.

Analysts said the fleet helps Beijing assert maritime claims while maintaining a civilian appearance.

The Minfudingyu, the China Coast Guard cutter 2502 and the research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03 (向陽紅03) were operating near Taiwan in mid-August, two senior Taiwanese officials briefed on the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Authorities identified the fishing boat as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s maritime militia fleet, which Taiwan was tracking and which was operating “in coordination with Chinese coast guard maritime harassment drills,” one official said.

“The purpose of militia boats is to conduct substantive harassment,” the official said.

The other official said the three craft were operating “in an area not commonly used by Chinese vessels” and had been “designated for heightened monitoring.”

The Apex report said a reconnaissance aircraft the company operates detected a Chinese maritime group more than 30 nautical miles (55.6km) off Hualien County.

The patrol by Apex reflects Taiwan’s efforts to involve civilian firms in technologies relevant to the government’s whole-of-society resilience initiative, although the company said its patrols are independently run and not carried out for the government.

Chinese warships, coast guard vessels, research ships and some civilian vessels continue to operate in overlapping ways, “creating pressure in the waters surrounding Taiwan,” Apex defense and security director Honor Hung (洪曉榮) said.

The three Chinese vessels were spread over a roughly 10-nautical-mile radius, Honor said, adding that one surveillance tracking could not determine their missions or any coordination among them.